Pretreatment tumor diameter/volume and pelvic lymph   node status assessed by magnetic resonance imaging for   uterine cervical carcinoma treated with concurrent   chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
OBJECTIVE
The aim is to evaluate the prognostic value of tumor diameter, volume and pelvic lymph node status assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with uterine cervical carcinoma patients treated with concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy.


METHODS
Ninety-eight patients diagnosed with stage IB to IIIB cervical carcinoma were entered into the study. Tumor diameter was evaluated in T2-weighted image. The tumor volume was calculated by the equation (volume = width x length x height x pi/6) as an ellipsoid approximation. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the prognostic factors for overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), pelvic control (PC) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS).


RESULTS
The 5-year OS, DFS, PC and DMFS rate were 59.8%, 57.3%, 67.9% and 78.8%, respectively. Using univariate analyses, large MRI tumor diameter (4 cm), large tumor volume (30 mL), pelvic enlarged pelvic lymph nodes, large clinical diameter (4 cm) and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FigO) stage showed a statistically significantly unfavorable influence on OS and DFS. In multivariate analyses, large tumor volume affected OS, DFS, PC and DMFS, and enlarged pelvic lymph nodes also affected OS.


CONCLUSIONS
Tumor volume and enlarged pelvic lymph nodes determined by pretreatment MRI examinations were significant prognostic factors for patients with invasive cervical carcinoma treated with concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Kim
Hun-Jung
HJ
Department of Radiation Oncology, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Inchon, Korea. thinkonco@paran.com
Kim
Woo-Chul
WC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*